Synopsis

In this realistic slice-of-life film from French director Agnes Jaoui, a young woman named Lolita (Marilou Berry) with a powerful singing voice and a pouty disposition strives to be everything she is not–perfect, beautiful, popular, and the object of her father’s affections. Her father Etienne (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a famous book publisher who is miserably self-absorbed, even neglecting Lolita’s svelte young step-mom (Virginie Desarnauts). The one person who makes Lolita feel appreciated is her singing teacher, Sylvia (Jaoui), who she admires. So when Lolita learns that Sylvia’s husband, Pierre (Laurent Grevill), is a struggling author, she sees a way to use her powerful father to her advantage. By inviting Sylvia and Pierre to meet her dad, Lolita opens up a Pandora’s Box of politics and personal entanglements. While Etienne agrees to publish Pierre’s next novel–a huge favor that will catapult his career forward–the pressure is on Sylvia to try to make a singing success and a happy girl of the stubborn Lolita.

Portraying the complexity of both positive and negative relationships with a rare honesty, Look at Me is about nothing and everything simultaneously. Viewers peer at this small group of people whose lives intersect for a brief period of weeks, and in the process learn about their personal hang-ups, their relationship problems, and the strange and funny episodes of their day-to-day lives. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable picture with true depth.

(France, 2004, 110 min., color, in French with English subtitles, rated PG-13 * Director/writer: Agnes Jaoui * Co-writer: Jean-Pierre Bacri * Cast: Marilou Berry, Agnes Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Laurent Grevill, Virginie Desarnauts)